Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue Honored With Eight More Prestigous Awards at 'The Nationals' by NAHB

SEATTLE, Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Executives at OPUS NWR Development, LLC today announced that The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has recognized Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue with eight awards including a silver finalist for "Project of the Year" for 2010 – one the most prestigious honors in the national homebuilding industry. The NAHB held "The Nationals" awards ceremony on January 19, 2010 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Hundreds of industry representatives and guests attended the black-tie gala, which kicks-off the annual International Builder's Show. Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue was selected by a panel of judges during a three-day evaluation of more than 700 individual award entries.

"We continue to be honored by industry peers for our collective accomplishment at Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue," said Tom Parsons, senior vice president and general manager of Opus Northwest – Seattle, the managing member of OPUS NWR Development, LLC. "It's tremendously gratifying to be singled out as a success story nationally."

Judges awarded Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue with three gold honors nationally for "Best Black & White Ad," "Best Interior Merchandizing of a Model Home over $1 Million," and "Best Internet Marketing Campaign – Banners." The high-rise project was also awarded with five silver honors for "Best Special Promotion," "Best Landscaping Design," "Best Staging of a New Home," "Best Graphic Continuity" and "Attached Community of the Year."

In addition to The Nationals awards, Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue has also been recognized with the following honors:

The West Coast's "Outstanding High-Rise" for 2009 as part of the Gold Nugget Awards held during the Pacific Coast Builder's Conference in San Francisco on June 18, 2009

The "Project of the Year" during the national Multifamily Executive Awards held in Las Vegas on October 13, 2009

The "Multi-Family High-Rise of the Year" by NAIOP during their annual "Night of the Stars" gala held in Bellevue on November 6, 2009

The Green Building Council rated Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue with a "Silver LEED" certification on December 18, 2009 – a ground-breaking accomplishment for a residential project under the City of Seattle's new land use code

"To my knowledge, this is an industry first for a single project to earn so many awards and certifications from this many respected institutions," said William Justen, a partner in The Justen Company, which was the project visionary and collaborated with Opus Northwest in the development of the project. "But then again, there were many firsts on Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue, which is in part what makes this development so unique."

Justen says numerous pioneering attributes led to the project's success. This includes being the first "tall and skinny" tower under downtown Seattle's new zoning; having all larger, two-bedroom homes ranging from 1,650 sq. ft. to 3,000 sq. ft. (average 1,916 sq. ft.) and having secured protected views of the city and Elliott Bay for each of the 143 units.

"Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue is inherently differentiated in our marketplace and continues to earn praise from both national judges and homebuyers alike," said Dean Jones, President and CEO of Realogics, which represents the marketing and sales of the condo tower. "That said, the most critical endorsement is consumer validation now that two-thirds of the homes have closed with established market values."

The Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue Development Team:

Opus NWR Development, L.L.C., is the developer and Opus NW Contractors, L.L.C., is the construction manager.

William Justen, managing director of the Samis Land Company and founder of The Justen Company, conceived Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue.

Now in its 28th year, The Nationals(SM) pays tribute to superior new-home sales and marketing achievements by individual sales and marketing professionals, homebuilders and associates, and regional sales and marketing councils. As the nation's largest competition of its kind, The Nationals(SM), honors industry excellence in development practices, product design and marketing. The competition is presented by the National Sales and Marketing Council (NSMC), a council of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Visit www.thenationals.com.

ABOUT OPUS NORTHWEST

Opus Northwest, LLC is a full-service design-build development firm serving the northwestern region of the United States. The company has offices in Minneapolis, Denver, Kansas City, Portland, Seattle, and St. Louis. With in-house expertise in office, industrial, retail, multifamily, government, and institutional projects, Opus Northwest has developed more than 84.8 million square feet of space. Committed to creating great real estate, Opus implements best practices in sustainable design and construction to maximize building performance and reduce environmental impact. For more information, visit www.opuscorp.com and follow OPUS on www.twitter.com/opuscorp.

ABOUT THE JUSTEN COMPANY

The Justen Company is a Seattle-based collaborative of consultants that add value by anticipating, planning and coordinating the entire development process from conception to move-in. The firm's founding principal, William Justen, was the project visionary for Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue and he also serves as the managing director of the Board for Samis Land Company, which sold OPUS NWR Development the land for the project. Visit www.justencompany.com.

ABOUT REALOGICS

Realogics, Inc. is a Seattle-based real estate consultancy and brokerage specializing in market research, product development, marketing and sales solutions for in-city condominiums and mixed-use properties. To date the firm has been recognized nationally with more than 100 individual sales and marketing awards by the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB). Visit www.realogics.com.